If only it was true....

[mbflemingkf]

Who are you guys asking?   The Historian?  His wife the Bulletin Editor?  The forum is dead.  In 2 months.  The club is moving in a different direction.  The current President and his minions, and they might be perfectly nice people - are not on the forum and never have been.  Old timers rarely are.  Thankfully some of our old timers are, but overall when I was trying to buy a KF in 2019, my posting in the Bulletin had a lot more interest than on the forum.  10 to 1.

They are not on the Internet and good for them.  I spend too much time there (Internet)

What I found were some sellers, aged, who wanted $30,000 for their cars, despite the fact they paid $1000 for them years ago.  or got them off used car lots for $350.   I am painting a broad brush but c'mon. 

2 of those guys have since passed on.   My budget was $15,000 for 2 cars.  I purchased Cadillacs instead.  Now I am no longer a member of any club.

May be time for you to move on???  Not sayin...just sayin! 

[Roadmaster49]

Of course you would say that.  Wouldn't expect  anything less.   

[larryk]

I'm just a Newbie on this Forum, and a KFOCI member. I joined both at the same time when I purchased my 53 HJ.
I have found that I gleaned more useful information from the Forum then from the Monthly Bulletins.
Losing all the data/history in the Forum would be a great loss!!
That being said, I've noticed that the Forum is a Simple Machines Forum which is open-source. What that means is the data-base that contains the information could be / should be easily exported to a read only type format. That way the old information could be accessed (but not changed). It shouldn't be that difficult/expensive.

[Bulletin Editor]

Our webmaster did an exhaustive search for a new platform that could accommodate moving the Forum "as is." Unfortunately, it does not exist - at any price. This is NOT the first time the Forum had to be moved to a new platform. This version of the Forum started "from scratch" in March 2007. Everything prior to that was deleted. So, what makes this move any different?

You can save all the information to your own computer for future reference. It's really a simple process: click on any topic in any category then click on PRINT in the upper right corner. Viola! You will have every single word of every single post in that thread. Depending on the number of posts/pages it takes a few seconds to a few minutes to format, then SAVE to a folder on your computer.

Please, stop demonizing the club Officers who had to make a financial decision for the future of the club, and those who prefer Facebook - I've never heard any of them demean you for your choice of the Forum. As I've said before: different strokes for different folks.

ps: a reminder to non-members that you can join KFOCI as an Associate for just $5 per year to remain active on the Forum.

[Bulletin Editor]

Why would anyone become a full member if $5 gets them access to the club as an e member?  Does $5 get you the e Monthly  bulletins? 

No, the $5 Associate membership, which includes voting rights and coverage under the club liability insurance policy at official club events, does not include publications.   

However, a new membership level will be available starting 1/1/21 for those that do want publications: receive eBulletin, eQuarterly and printed Calendar for $25 annually.

[larryk]

You can save all the information to your own computer for future reference. It's really a simple process: click on any topic in any category then click on PRINT in the upper right corner. Viola! You will have every single word of every single post in that thread. Depending on the number of posts/pages it takes a few seconds to a few minutes to format, then SAVE to a folder on your computer.

Really? This is a solution? There are 45 pages for the Henry J / Allstate forum. It could take hours, not minutes to "print" all of the posts . I still think that it would be not that difficult to incorporate a "read only" of the forum posts to the new website.

[Carpenter]

I could be wrong, but I see a lot of valuable information, from YEARS, going own the tube.

[konrad]

You can save all the information to your own computer for future reference. It's really a simple process: click on any topic in any category then click on PRINT in the upper right corner. Viola! You will have every single word of every single post in that thread. Depending on the number of posts/pages it takes a few seconds to a few minutes to format, then SAVE to a folder on your computer.

Print doesn't exist for a given subject, only for specific posts.  That means I need to wade through the forum and save each and every post thread I think is , or might be, or might in future be...of interest or helpful.  How will I determine which particular post, not helpful today, might be next year?  Shall I go through and save every Virginian post now?  I don't currently own a Virginian, but maybe I'll buy one in two years...who knows?

Look, I get it!  The current leadership no longer really cares about the forum, nor its history of posts, nor the wisdom of members current and deceased that is archived here.

Kill it!  Put a stake in the club's heart if that is your great desire.  Just don't be surprised when it kills the club itself...because that IS what you will be doing.  Perhaps you believe I'm being overly dramatic, but I can assure you I am not.

[Chris Luecht]

All,

Sorry I haven't posted sooner, but as you can imagine, I've been a bit preoccupied.  The decision has been made by the club to start a new forum to accompany the newest version of the club website to be released for 2021.  The current version of our Forum is ancient and has needed an upgrade for years, at least in my opinion.  Due to its age and other factors, migrating the historical data to a newer version is quite problematic.  I've consulted with the tech people who created the forum software that we will be using going forward, and they have also yet to find an acceptable method of transferring the old data to the new forum.  Even migrating this data to a newer version of the system we currently use doesn't work.

A couple things I want to make clear:

- The decision to move to a new website was not mine, but that of the Board of Directors.  Initially, I wasn't thrilled to have to recreate yet another club website, but I do support the club's decision at this time to move to a cheaper alternative as our current "Wild Apricot" version of the club website is now too costly to continue.

- I do not plan on erasing the current, soon to be old, version of the forum.  At least, not anytime soon.  I, too, believe the historical data in our current version of the forum is important to many, including myself.  I search old posts regularly for tech tips and other info.  I have been, and will continue, to search for an acceptable way to keep a legacy version of this forum (or its data) available.  It is, however, unlikely that any legacy version will go live simultaneously with the new forum.

- "Kaiser Frazer Owners Club Forum" is the first thing you read at the top of the page.  It belongs to the club, not me.  If the club decides to make membership in the club a prerequisite for accessing the forum, they are allowed to do so as it is their forum.  It might not be a popular decision, but it is up to our elected officials to make decisions they feel will benefit the club.  Without getting too political.... Are you unhappy with the club's decision?  As many of us will see in this week's presidential & local elections, it is important to vote in order to voice your opinion, but that doesn't mean things will always go your way.  Did you vote in the last club election?  Are you a member of the club? 

Solely My Opinion:

Aside from my family & friends, few things in life bring me as much joy as the classic car hobby.  Many of you that I have supplied parts with over the years have supported my passion to be your modern day KF parts hub, and I'm thankful that I've been able to help keep your Kaiser, Frazer, HJ, Darrin, or Willys on the road for you and others to enjoy.  While I may not be able to attend every one, there is something about going to KFOCI club meets, at least for me, that warms the soul.  Seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and sharing a love for these old hunks of tin.  I'm easily 30-50 years younger than many of our club's members, but I'm always surprised how similar my passion for these cars is, and how each member got interested in them.  Being part of KFOCI is important to me, but it may not be for you.  If you wish to remain unaffiliated with a club, that is your right, and there certainly isn't any harm in doing so.  If you aren't interested in being part of the club, but wish to voice negative opinions about such, on the club's forum, that seems odd to me.  Negativity often spawns more of the same, and that certainly isn't going to help foster anyone's enjoyment of our hobby.  Don't be surprised when you see your negative posts deleted.

Kaiserly,
Chris





 

[larryk]

All,

A couple things I want to make clear:

- I do not plan on erasing the current, soon to be old, version of the forum.  At least, not anytime soon.  I, too, believe the historical data in our current version of the forum is important to many, including myself.  I search old posts regularly for tech tips and other info.  I have been, and will continue, to search for an acceptable way to keep a legacy version of this forum (or its data) available.  It is, however, unlikely that any legacy version will go live simultaneously with the new forum.


Kaiserly,
Chris

Thank you for the explanation Chris!
I am the webmaster for a local Sports Car Club, and I am on the third re-design of the website. I feel your pain!

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

I don't know who told who what, but the Monthly Bulletin of this club is intended to cover things for sale or wanted (including what's currently available from the manufacturing fund, comings and goin gs within the club (we had a lot on upcoming and jus finished club events becore COVID) and odds and ends.  It is NOT normally supposed to have service information, restoration tips, etc.  That is part of the Quarterly magazine's Spring and Fall issues (because that's what the membership wanted back in 2017-2018) PROVIDED members shared information for publication.  Rarely, if ever does anyone send things in. 

A lot of information also handled through e-mail and phone conversations.  Konrad is a good example.  He and I have gone back and forth on questions about his car.  I am happy to do this and if there is something I can't answer I can refer him to someone who can.  In most cases these referreals are with people who rarely if ever use the forum.  I urge other members with questions to try this route if they have not do so al ready.  Most of the current Forum membership are non-members who have no intention of joining the club not because of any politics but (and this is only mu humble opinion) seem to take the position that if they can get what they want for free, why join the lcub or otherwise try to support it.

Cris' posting on the why and wherefores with all that is going on concerning the Forum and Club Website does a very good job explaining toe backstory as to why certain things are done.  Remember, unlike our cars, something computer-related that is more than a few years old is something that will soon be relegated to the scrap heap. 

[Bulletin Editor]

You can save all the information to your own computer for future reference. It's really a simple process: click on any topic in any category then click on PRINT in the upper right corner. Viola! You will have every single word of every single post in that thread. Depending on the number of posts/pages it takes a few seconds to a few minutes to format, then SAVE to a folder on your computer.

Really? This is a solution? There are 45 pages for the Henry J / Allstate forum. It could take hours, not minutes to "print" all of the posts . I still think that it would be not that difficult to incorporate a "read only" of the forum posts to the new website.

Larry, I've done it. Multiple times, multiple threads. It really does go fast. You only need to click the PRINT button to capture all the data. You don't need to physically print all the pages ~ just SAVE to your computer.

[Bulletin Editor]

Print doesn't exist for a given subject, only for specific posts. 

Not true. I just "printed" this entire thread (attached as PDF to this post). It literally took me 3 seconds.

[konrad]

Print doesn't exist for a given subject, only for specific posts. 

Not true. I just "printed" this entire thread (attached as PDF to this post). It literally took me 3 seconds.

Perhaps you misunderstood...that was my point.  I can "print" individual threads, but not entire sections of the forum.  For example, if I wanted to save the "Kaiser Forum" subsection, I would need to open and "print" each and every thread with that subsection.  There is no "print" option for forum subsections, nor for the forum as a whole...

Which also goes to my previous issue...currently I only own one Kaiser...will I need the HJ info later should an HJ come my way?  Do I spend hours clicking through each and every thread in each and every subsection and printing them to a computer doc, just in anticipation I may or may not one day own an HJ, or a Virginian, or a Traveler?

[konrad]

Chris, per some quick research, it appears the SimpleMachines forum software operates on a MySQL database.  What platform does the new forum software operate on?  If another flavor of SQL (they are all effectively the same, only the syntax changes) it should be reasonably easy to create a script to pull the info from the data tables of the one database, and plug that data into another.  The main drawback would be assuring the new set of data tables has a corresponding table for the data from the old set of tables.  Even if those corresponding tables were only used for the data migration and never used for new posts, that shouldn't be an issue.

As someone whose IT career was intimately involved with databases, I'd be happy to offer any help I can in finding a solution moving forward...

If you can send me a copy of the current MySQL data dictionary file I can begin a cursory examination of what it may entail on the read end.  If moving to something like phpBB, generally that software also uses MySQL, so a script to move the data shouldn't be incredibly difficult to create...